Displays and display technology are used for a variety purposes. For example, displays are used for traditional uses such as watching television or in conjunction with a computer for viewing and manipulating data. Additionally, display technology has been implemented in a variety of mobile components, such as mobile telephones, that are increasingly used for both communication and as a multi-media tool.
A common type of display used in a variety of applications is a liquid crystal display (LCD). LCDs are typically thin, flat panels that may be manufactured to fit a variety of size and space parameters and whose common specifications and components are known. Power consumption for LCDs is, however, a concern as LCDs are both being used in more mobile, battery powered devices as well as being formed for larger displays. The backlight used for the LCD is often the component of the LCD with the highest power consumption. Light emitting diode (LED) backlights are one type of backlight that currently allows for the most optimal display and definition when using an LCD.
Additionally, red-green-blue (RGB) LEDs and/or white LEDs may be used in an LCD to generate a high number of colors. Further, the red, green and blue (RGB) LEDs, white LEDs or any other combination of LEDs can be arranged in a specified structure (e.g. grid structure) behind or beside a pixel plane of the LCD and may be driven by pulse width modulation (PWM) in a process known as local dimming, as desired by the properties of the image that is being displayed.
In order to achieve a properly displayed image at a lower power consumption, the brightness of the LEDs must be accurately calculated. The brightness of the LEDs can be referred to as PWM values and, based upon these values, an image can be displayed with varying color and contrast. However, some current methods of calculating PWM values rely on a series of approximation algorithms for image processing. These algorithms use filter functions and a variety of complex mathematical operations and iterations to find approximate solutions to downsize a high resolution source image in order to determine values of a low resolution LED grid. The approximate solutions for the PWM values, however, result in the LED backlight using more power than necessary and can cause flaws in an image to be displayed on the LCD, such as lower image resolution and clipping. Additionally, the complex nature of the approximation algorithms facilitates the use of more complex, expensive hardware to perform the approximations. Further, because of the time needed to make the calculations, the process is slower which can lead to problems in displaying video content, for example the display of video at a less desirable frame rate.